Liquid crystal display devices are incorporated into various apparatuses such as a television receiver, automobile displays such as a car navigation apparatus, and mobile terminals such as a notebook computer and cellular phone.
For example, in a TN (Twisted Nematic)-mode or OCB (Optically Compensated Bend)-mode liquid crystal display device, the orientation direction of liquid crystal molecules contained in a liquid crystal layer held between upper and lower substrates is controlled by an electric field formed between a counterelectrode of the upper substrate and a pixel electrode of the lower substrate.
Also, in an IPS (In-Plane Switching)-mode or FFS (Fringe-Field Switching)-mode liquid crystal display device, both the counterelectrode (in this case, a COM electrode) and the pixel electrode are provided on one substrate, and the orientation direction of liquid crystal modules contained in a liquid crystal layer is controlled by an electric field (fringe electric field) formed between the two electrodes. The FFS-mode liquid crystal display device has a high luminance because a high aperture ratio can be secured, and also has a good viewing angle characteristic.